An Abundance of Updates

Sometimes it seems like all I ever say on this blog is "Oh no we have too many animals" - and as true as that may be, it's nice to change things up every once in a while. I had a really depressing post all written and ready to go, and then I thought "It's Christmas in six days, nobody wants to hear that". Besides, I have wonderful updates piling up in my inbox. So let's have a feel-good post!

First, an update on the actual Room. For the first time in ages, we had some rabbit adoptions! I'm pleased to say two of the rabbits from the recent hoarder have been adopted! Raven and Blackjack were adopted right after each other. Otherwise adoptions have been slow (as per usual at holiday time), but senior citizen Bugsy was transferred to rescue, where he will have a much better chance.
Now how about some adopter updates?

 

Sharpie (the black one in the photo) was adopted from us two years ago, just before Christmas 2009. He was known as Shrek at the shelter (haha check out my terrible 2009 photos), and we got a lovely update from his family last year. His family sent this sweet photo last week to show that two years later, he's still doing well! I love getting long-term updates. Obviously Sharpie (and his best friend Sabrina) lucked out with their forever home!

 How cute is this? I got this photo a couple of weeks ago. Clairabel was adopted from an adopt-a-thon at Pet Uno in October. The young girl who adopted her also sent this email:

Hey, I'm the girl who adopted Clairabel the hamster in October! So Clairabel is doing GREAT she loves the home and her new cage, she is adorable. We just figured out she LOVES apples! She loves to play in her wheel and all. She is doing very good and I will for sure send you guys more updates!

Sam (now known as Tayto) was a baby guinea pig adopted from Pet Valu in September. His new mom sent me this fantastic update, along with the beautiful photo above:

My parents got me my first guinea pig when I was three and I've loved them ever since. I have now been keeping guinea pigs as pets for about 24 years and adopting exclusively from rescues and shelters for 5 years. I adopted Sam from TAS at Pet Valu and wanted to update you and share his story. 

 We currently have 4 piggies in all, including Sam. Legend has lived with us for about 4 years now and is the oldest guinea pig in our home. We lost his best friend and cagemate of 4 years to sudden heart failure. When he passed away I found myself questioning whether it might be time to stop adopting new pigs, but I realized fairly quickly that Legend simply couldn't cope with being alone. He sulked, he started being really picky about food, and all he did was lay around the cage. He was clearly sad and missing his friend.

I started looking for a new pig. A week or two later I was taking my lunch break and walked past the Pet Valu on King. In the back, there was a tiny little brown ball of fluff named "Sam". Immediately I thought he was cute (big surprise, I think they're all cute). Abyssinians are my favourite so definitely caught my attention and I watched him for a while. A sales associate came back with a bag of treats and explained that she'd been spoiling him extra that day because he seemed sad, when I asked why she explained that his brother had been adopted out alone and that he hadn't been himself since. Well, that just hit a sore spot and broke my heart a little. By that point I'd already made up my mind. She asked me if I'd like to meet him before leaving and I couldn't refuse. By that point on the rest is history. Any hesitation I'd had about adopting a new guinea pig had just melted away...I knew from the moment I picked him up that I wanted to snuggle him all the rest of his days. 

 We renamed him Tayto and after a few weeks of quarantine he was ready to meet Legend. I wish I could say that their introductions were easy but in reality they were a bit rough. But after a few hours of roughhousing on the kitchen floor they both got tired and decided to make peace. They have been living happily together for almost a month now and Legend has never been more active and social, I guess he is motivated or inspired by all of Tayto's energy. I love Tayto's vibrant personality and I also enjoy how much he likes to snuggle. We're so happy to have found him and so grateful to have him as part of our family. 
Thank you, Toronto Animal Services, for taking him in and for caring for him. Thank you also for all that you do, please keep up the GREAT work. 

What an amazing update! I always worry about babies, as I'm always afraid they're adopted for the cute factor. But obviously Sam/Tayto lucked out!

 And finally, an update on two of Circe's babies! I love getting updates on my foster babies! This wonderful, rabbit-experienced couple adopted Achilles and Hercules together, and the boys are just getting spoiled rotten.   

Hi Laura,

I thought you would like to know how Hercules and Achilles are doing. In less than two weeks, they have managed to settle in perfectly and have taken over our home and our lives (and we couldn't be happier!).

 They are doing very well with their litter habits, so you should be very proud. They've been to the vet and have been given a clean bill of health. During the day they have the run of our bunny-proof spare room, and take full advantage of the space running like crazy in the morning and sleeping all afternoon. In the evening we've got them in our TV room with us where they have tons of space to kick up their heels. They are not shy of jumping up and down off the couch and anything else they can get up on! We are really happy we ended up taking both as they get along great and keep each other company! 

 They're growing fast, and already weighing in at 5 pounds each. They're still getting along great, with only one small fight since we've had them. Otherwise, they play together and groom each other whenever they're not napping or eating. 

It's sad to hear that you are seeing so many rabbits surrendered; I can't believe some of the stories. I'm happy we were able to help out by taking Oscar and Leroy. They seem to really like it here and are becoming a couple of cuddle-buns.  

They renamed Achilles to Oscar and Hercules to Leroy because the names were a bit too much of a mouthful to say all the time. Can't say I blame them, haha!

So there we go - a nice long, positive post. Huge thanks to all the wonderful adopters who take the time to send updates! They really make it all worthwhile.